Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.’s Southern Region raises $16,000 For Nashville Nonprofits

In one hour, the members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Southern Region raised more than $16,000 in donations for the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and Street Works, Inc. (Street Works). The funds were collected during the ecumenical service at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Southern Regional Conference hosted in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Conference Center and Resort.

NMAAM and Street Works equally received 50 percent of the funds. NMAAM is based in Nashville and will open in late 2019. It is the only museum dedicated to the contributions that African Americans have made to music around the world.
Street Works, also based in Nashville, provides education, prevention services and care to persons affected by HIV/AIDS.
“The members of Delta Sigma Theta believe in supporting the communities where we live and work,” said Sharon Hurt, immediate past president of Nashville Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter. “Street Works and NMAAM share our objectives to support critically important local health care initiatives and local arts communities. We hope our contributions will help NMAAM and Street Works continue to enhance the quality of life for Nashvillians.”
This year’s Southern Regional Conference, held June 28-July 1, included 191 chapters, with more than 4,000 attendees from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and the Bahamas.
“We are so proud to support the work and efforts of these two community organizations, which are aligned with our national initiatives in physical and mental health and arts and letters,” said Gloria Johnson, president of Nashville Alumnae Chapter. “We are pleased to provide funds to enhance lives in the communities where we live, work, and serve.”

NMAAM president, H. Beecher Hicks, III, and Street Works president Sharon W. Hurt received the funds on behalf of their respective organizations. “Thank you to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, for this very generous gift,” said Hicks. “We are grateful to have the support of this dynamic organization.”

“Supporting Street Works not only helps us to meet key health care needs of the disadvantaged, it also allows us to create a collaborative relationship that educates the middle Tennessee community about HIV/AIDS and Hep C,” Hurt said. “We are honored that Delta Sigma Theta’s Southern Region decided to make significant contributions to both organizations.”
ABOUT DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is an organization of college-educated women committed to the constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community. Founded in 1913 by 22 collegiate women, this private, not-for-profit organization provides assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world. Since its founding, more than 200,000 women have joined the organization. The predominantly Black sisterhood currently has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, England, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Republic of Korea.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC
The National Museum of African American Music, set to open in 2019, will be the only museum solely dedicated to educating, preserving and celebrating the influence African Americans have had on music. Based in Nashville, Tenn., the museum will share the story of the American soundtrack by integrating history and interactive technology to bring musical heroes of the past into the present. For more information, please visit www.nmaam.org.